Libra New Moon of Trusting this Flow with the Common Mycelial Network

23°53' Libra
12:31 PM PST 
Friday, October 16, 2020
Fungus: The Common Mycelial Network

Welcome to this Libra New Moon of Trusting this Flow in this beautiful Libra Season!

Libra is the second air sign and is mentored by Venus who is in 16° Virgo. Libra's evolutionary journey guides us into right relation. In a way Libra is about codependency, over sensitivity, judgment, projection of inner conflict, and fear. In another way Libra can be about inner equilibrium, trust, tact, harmonious cooperation, sheer beauty, healthy boundaries, and collaboration. As the cardinal air sign, Libra has an emphasis on action and initiation, but might not do so well with following through. 

Libra's highest vibration manifests as a sense of deep respect and care for others and their differences. This is the ability to be personally accountable for your own behavior and impact within relationship. Libra is all about the dynamic of relationships. The ebbs and flows, twists and turns. 

The Common Mycelial Network (CMN) a.k.a the "wood wide web" refers to the web of mycelium that connects individual plants and transfers water, carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients and minerals.

More than 6,000 fungal species and at least 90% of the worlds plants confer nutrients through mycorrhizal symbiosis. The absorptive area of the plant roots can increase 10-1,000 fold, increased growth rate, decreased time taken to mature, enhanced nutrient access, higher nutritional content, higher medicinal quality, and a higher flowering rat are some of them.

In the midst of this flow, how do you trust? 

Trust as a verb (c. 1200) comes from Old Norse treysta for "to trust, rely on, make strong and safe," (etymonline.com). How do you rely while also make strong and safe?

A depiction of the Common Mycelial Network (CMN). (1) Shows tree roots connected by ectomycorrhizal fungi; (2, 3) shows various plant species and a tree form arbuscular mycorrhizal networks (AMF) which are interconnected into the subsoil layers; (4) an orchid forms a 3rd underground mycelial network with orchidaceous endomycorrhizas.  (Image source: van der Heijden et al., 2014).

Relationships help you to become who you are. We are relational humans, and it can be easy to forget just how relational we are. Fungi are organisms that help us deeply get back on this track of connectivity. The simple practice of mushrooming can strip away the fog of our isolation and allow us to feel how connected to the natural world we really are. Just as spending time with any wild and old place. As fungi are connectors of whole habitats, though, I believe these organisms are a profound reflection of our own experience and capacity of connection. The fungi are guiding us deeply into this remembering.

It is important, to remember, that yes, fungi connect trees, forests, habitats, and ecosystems, but their webs and networks are so intricately weaved that it becomes difficult to tell where one ends and where the next one starts. It is not like the Common Mycelial Network is one cookie-cutter, globalized web of the same network. Just how big is a given fungal network? Perhaps over 50 square meters, perhaps over 3.4 square miles. We don't really know yet, but some studies have asked the same questions. 

We do know that the size of networks generally increase with age. Bigger, older trees (especially old growth forests) are linchpins of the Common Mycelial Network. 

Simard et al. (2012) study showing mycelial network spacial topography.

It also seems like generally, much of the nutritional and medicinal transportation (save for rhizomorphs) depends greatly on the biomass and 3-D complexity. This seems to say that it is about strengthening the relationships that are most immediately in front of us. And, ultimately, the fungi (and Libra) disclose that it is the quality of our relationships that determines the quality of our life.

During 2020's Libra New Moon, we can collectively ask ourselves, what behaviors are self-reliant, interdependent, and collaborative? During this lunar cycle, take notice of how you can strengthen the healthy bonds that are there. What about your self-trust or healthy boundaries can you become more deeply present to?

Any placements in the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer) will be influenced the most by this lunar transit.

It is by being with others that you get to know who you are. We are interactive, dynamic, and BEAUTIFUL beings!

sending you peace, love, and spores!

Citations:

Simard, Suzanne & Beiler, Kevin & Bingham, Marcus & Deslippe, Julie & Philip, Leanne & Teste, Francois. (2012). Mycorrhizal networks: Mechanisms, ecology and modelling. Fungal Biology Reviews. 26. 39-60. 10.1016/j.fbr.2012.01.001. 

van der Heijden, M.G.A., Martin, F.M., Selosse, M.‐A. and Sanders, I.R. (2015), Mycorrhizal ecology and evolution: the past, the present, and the future. New Phytol, 205: 1406-1423. doi:10.1111/nph.13288